Windows
by Mortania Hottersander
Summary: Response to la z boy's Harry and Hermione Christmas Challenge. A moment which shows their friendship. I suck at summaries. R&R. One-shot.


**Windows**

A/N: This is going to be a one-shot; I really should update my other stories but I'm having a bit of a problem with the plotlines with them both-and they feel as though I should rewrite them, unfortunately. It's a response to 'The Harry and Hermione Christmas Challenge' in the HP forums, a challenge put forth by la z boy.

Disclaimer: I am playing with characters. JK Rowling owns them.

* * *

><p>The war had left many of us devastated-well, alright, that's perhaps an understatement if there ever was one. I would be lying if I didn't say that I had lost a lot of things in that war; I had sent my parents away with no memory that I even existed. Now, at the time when I obliviated them, I didn't consider that giving them alternate identities would in fact allow them to make new memories and obtain a life completely different from the one that they had lead in England-I had just told myself that I would go and retrieve them after the war and when they were safe to return to England.<p>

But, in all honesty, when the final wand had been dropped and the world was free-it felt a little out of place to bring them back. There were still Death Eater supporters out there, and they would definitely not hesitate in killing the family of those that opposed them.

So, here I was, fresh out of Hogwarts (a year later than I would have been otherwise) and walking around London looking in all the shop windows as my mum and I had done when I was a little girl. My wand was safely tucked inside of my jacket and my scarf was softly tucked beneath my neck. As I stopped by one of the toy stores I watched the toy train go around the tree in the window, the lights reflected from the streetlamps and the tree were especially bright on the glass but that did not stop me from seeing a person come stand beside me.

"'Mione, What brings you out alone this evening?" The familiar voice asked, his hands in his pockets and looking down at the train as well.

"Harry, it's not as though I'm not equipped to defend myself." I turned to face the boy whom I had come to think of as a brother throughout the years at Hogwarts and the five months we spent in various places across the country. He looked every bit the nineteen years he was but his eyes showed wear and wisdom not common for nineteen year old boys. But he was actually a man now. "My mum and I use to come and look in all the shop windows when I was a little girl. Every year, I would return home from Hogwarts and we'd come and look in the windows. Christmas seemed even more magical after I found out I was a witch. Why are you here?"

"There's a jewelry shop right down the-" he paused and then shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't matter. I loved this shop whenever I saw it when Petunia would drag me along to do shopping for Dudley so I could hold her bags. The clerks would ask her why she brought her child with her but she would reply that my presents had already been bought. Lying of course, but who would question her?" it suddenly registered to me what exactly Harry had been saying when he had paused and changed the subject.

"Harry, you're going to ask Gin to marry you, aren't you?" I looked at him and suddenly felt very proud of him, it was odd, but I couldn't imagine a better happy ending for Harry than marrying the girl he loved completely and having the one thing he'd always wanted, a family.

Harry's smirk was rather handsome, to be honest, but his green eyes glistened with hope and love when he looked back up. "Well, yeah. Would you like to see?" He pulled the black velvet box from his blazer and held it out to me. As I opened the box, my eyes widened. He had really outdone himself this time, the ring was a simple white gold ring with three diamonds, one large one in the center and two on either side of the center diamond. "Think she's going to like it?"

"Harry, you could give her a ring from a gumball machine and she would love it." I closed the box and handed it back to him, "It's beautiful." It was at that moment that snow began falling, and landing in my curls.

"How are things going with Ron?" Harry asked me. Usually I would've told him he was going crazy because he should know. He and Ron talked every day. "Better question, how are you, Mione?"

"Harry, you know how I am." I began walking and he followed next to me, holding his arm out so I could intertwine mine with his. "I'm alive." It was the best response I could possibly come up with at the moment. "Grateful for the relationship Ron and I have now that he's realized that I am capable of being more than just his friend. I've loved him for so long, Harry."

"He's daft sometimes, 'Mione, even you know that." Harry laughed lightly. "I mean, how're you feeling about this Christmas, you mentioned your mum a few minutes ago, have you made any decision about bringing them back?"

"Harry, you know it's still not really safe." I looked down at the lights strung from streetlight to streetlight. "Besides, they're extremely content in their new lives. They've never been more in love than they are right now."

"You miss them. That much is apparent to even Molly. She said she watched you while they were decorating and you seemed more and more forlorn as the night progressed, and the decorating continued." Harry always had a way of never dancing around the truth. This was a quality that I had admired in him, and I knew that Ginny appreciated more than his loyalty.

"Of course I miss them, Harry. I miss decorating the living room with mum, I miss hanging the ornaments on the tree with dad. I miss hearing them tell stories about their youth-and their first Christmas together. I feel downright miserable. I believe I could almost qualify as the Grinch, or Scrooge." He laughed a hearty laugh and I knew that he had understood what I was talking about.

"I can't say I understand what it's like to miss hearing their voices because I hardly remember anything about my own parents, seeing as I was a baby when they were killed; but Mione, I know what it's like to feel alone, even surrounded by friends." Harry spoke in earnest. Of course, he would understand, "And I promise you this, even if you decide to never bring them back you have a wonderful family right here. I think of you as a sister and I promise I'm going to do my best not to abandon you. I also can guarantee Molly has already adopted you into the Weasley family no matter what happens with you and Ron. In case he's a complete dunderhead and lets you slip away." Harry held my hand on the corner and then smiled at me. "Why don't you come back to the Burrow with me and we'll play a game of Wizard's Chess."

"Harry, you know I think it's barbaric." And I knew deep down inside, he was remembering me at eleven years old telling him and Ron that it was barbaric when they were playing at the table in the Great Hall. "But thank you for the offer." I looked around at the couples holding hands and the mothers and children looking into the windows on the street and a teardrop fell down my cheek. "You go on to the Burrow. I think I'm just going to stay here for a while longer."

He reached up with a handkerchief that he had pulled from his pocket and wiped away the tear that had fallen. "No, I think I'll just stay here for a while longer with you. Just to keep you company."

"Thank you." And with that, we walked along the street and looked into the windows together, not speaking just keeping one another company. He was a friend I counted myself lucky to have, and knew without a doubt that I would never celebrate a holiday alone with him in my life, how very Gryffindor of him to never leave a friend alone.


End file.
